More than 200 answer scripts of candidates who had appeared for a final semester exam at RG Kar Medical College and Hospital were among the items seized from the apartments of the sister-in-law of former principal Sandip Ghosh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday.
The exam was held in 2023, said ED officials.
The answer scripts were found in a trolley bag in one of the two apartments owned by Arpita Bera and her husband at Milan Pally, near the airport, during a search and seizure operation on September 6, officials in the agency said.
“Bera and her husband were asked why the answer scripts were in their apartment and who kept them there. Their answers weren’t satisfactory. They will be questioned again,” said an ED official.
Other than the answer scripts, the items seized on September 6 included some documents related to Ghosh’s properties, copies of tenders and deeds of land parcels belonging to the former principal, sources said.
Ghosh, who resigned as RG Kar principal a few days after a junior doctor was raped and murdered on the campus, was arrested by the CBI on September 2 in connection with alleged financial irregularities at the medical college.
“We have been flagging the issue of malpractices by the former principal for some time now. The recovery of answer scripts raises serious questions about some of the students who graduated from RG Kar,” said Kinjal Nanda, a junior doctor.
The ED and the CBI are investigating alleged financial irregularities at RG Kar. “The search and seizure operation at addresses linked to Ghosh, conducted a week back, was aimed at recovering documents related to the case,” said an ED official.
“Some junior doctors close to the former principal would demand money from candidates appearing in final exams to ensure they scored the pass marks. Those who refused to pay would fail,” said a junior doctor at RG Kar. “Lakhs of rupees were demanded from each candidate.”
In his petition filed at Calcutta High Court, Akhtar Ali, a former deputy superintendent of RG Kar, had alleged that students were pressured to pay between ₹5 and 8 lakh to pass the exams.
Senior ED officials said they would summon some students and junior doctors at RG Kar to record their statements on the alleged malpractices.
The officials said Ghosh’s in-laws live in an apartment adjoining that of his sister-in-law.
“We just hope that Ghosh’s sister-in-law doesn’t get to flee the country,” said Subarna Goswami, a senior doctor who was accused by police of spreading misinformation and disclosing the identity of the RG Kar victim.
